FTC order targets broker accused of bypassing concert ticket limits

A federal court order permanently bars a Georgia ticket broker and its owners from using multiple accounts, payment identities, internet addresses and browser sessions to bypass posted ticket limits for concerts and other live events.

The Federal Trade Commission filed its complaint and a stipulated order on July 27, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, Augusta Division. The action names Elite Events and Tickets LLC, which also does business as Smart Scalpers or smartscalpers.com, and owners Kevin W. McKerley and Aaron L. Fera.

The order enters a $10,758,000 civil-penalty judgment against the company and the two owners jointly and severally. It requires $300,000 to be paid within seven days of entry. After that payment, the remainder is suspended based on sworn financial disclosures and related documents, but the suspension can be lifted if the defendants’ financial representations are found to be materially false or incomplete.

The defendants neither admit nor deny the allegations in the FTC complaint, except for matters specifically stated in the order.

What the FTC alleges

The complaint alleges that the defendants used illegal methods beginning in July 2022 to purchase tickets from Ticketmaster, AXS and other issuers for high-demand concerts, sporting events and other shows.

According to the filing, Elite Events used hundreds of ticket-purchasing accounts created with fictitious names, addresses and phone numbers or with information belonging to employees and agents. The FTC also alleges the use of virtual credit-card accounts that generated thousands of card numbers, proxy internet addresses that concealed purchasing locations and identities, and multi-session browsers that allowed separate purchasing sessions in one application.

In plain terms, the alleged system was designed to make purchases appear to come from different consumers, payment sources, devices or locations. The FTC says the conduct involved human employees and agents using technological circumvention tools, rather than being limited to conventional automated ticket bots.

The scale and potential consumer effect

The complaint gives two different, overlapping measures of the alleged operation. It says the defendants amassed more than 100,000 tickets through more than 42,000 transactions across more than 5,700 events. Separately, it alleges that the posted maximum limit was exceeded for at least 2,431 events involving more than 250 performers, with 86,869 tickets tied to those events.

The FTC says many of the tickets were later resold on secondary marketplaces including StubHub, Vivid Seats, SeatGeek, TickPick, ViaGoGo and Gametime. The complaint alleges markups often ranged from 100% to 500% above the original purchase price and says the defendants made more than $3.5 million in profits from tickets purchased above posted limits.

One example in the complaint involves Tate McRae’s August 29, 2025, concert at Rocket Arena in Cleveland. The FTC alleges that Elite Events used at least 55 Ticketmaster accounts to acquire 409 tickets even though the event’s limit was between four and eight tickets. The tickets were purchased for about $50 to $75 each and later resold for roughly $120 to $200, according to the filing.

The consumer concern is that a broker who obtains more tickets than a ticket issuer intended one buyer or account holder to purchase may reduce the inventory available to ordinary fans at the initial price. Fans who miss out may then turn to resale sites, where prices can be substantially higher. The order does not provide refunds to fans or guarantee lower prices for future events.

What the order does

The stipulated order permanently prohibits the named defendants and people acting in concert with them who receive notice from circumventing security measures or other controls to exceed posted ticket limits or evade online purchasing rules.

It also bars the defendants from selling or offering tickets obtained through prohibited circumvention when they participated in the conduct, had the ability to control it, or knew or should have known how the tickets were acquired. The restrictions specifically cover the use of multiple purchasing accounts, multiple internet addresses, multi-session browsers and payment accounts or methods held in another person’s name.

The order requires the defendants to cooperate with the FTC, provide acknowledgments of receipt and submit compliance reporting. It does not eliminate ticket resale markets or establish a nationwide price cap; it directly binds the named defendants and covered persons who receive notice of the order.

How the ticket law applies

The Better Online Ticket Sales Act, enacted in 2016, makes it unlawful to circumvent a security measure, access-control system or other technological control used to enforce posted event-ticket limits or maintain the integrity of online purchasing rules. It also restricts the sale of tickets obtained through such unlawful circumvention when the seller participated in the conduct or knew, or should have known, how the tickets were acquired.

The FTC’s action is significant because the agency is applying that law to alleged account, payment, identity, internet-address and browser-session circumvention methods—not only to software that automatically purchases tickets.

Part of wider federal scrutiny

The case is separate from an FTC lawsuit against Maryland-based Key Investment Group, which the Associated Press reported involved allegations that the company used fictitious accounts and other methods to exceed ticket limits for events including Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. Key Investment Group said it would defend itself and argued that the FTC was misapplying the law to a human-operated resale business.

Federal officials are also examining broader issues in the live-ticketing market. AP has reported on a tentative Justice Department settlement with Live Nation in an antitrust case; that proposed deal still requires court approval and is separate from the completed stipulated order against Elite Events.

The next developments to watch are the defendants’ required payment and compliance filings, the FTC’s administration of the injunction and whether the agency brings or resolves similar cases involving other ticket brokers.

Sources

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